Love Never Dies
by Midnight1234
Summary: Natsu is a sickly little boy. He makes his first friends when his sister Erza brings Lucy and Gray home. Has the blue fairy he has always wished for finally granted his wish to become a normal boy? Or is that an illusion as things suddenly go down hill.


**Hiya! I decided to write this very long fic. It's basically little bits of the beginning of all four of the being friends till the very end. Please leave a review and favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!**

**-Let there be midnight**

**ME NO OWN FAIRY TAIL**

* * *

**Love Never Dies**

Soft knocking came from his closed door, only for it to be opened minutes later by a twelve year old girl with long scarlet hair and beautiful violet eyes.

"Natsu," she said softly to the now waking ten-year-old boy in the bed. The pinkette rolled over and blinked at the light that poured in from the hallway and at his sister who smiled softly at him from his doorway. "I'm off to school. Dad had to go out of town for two weeks to attend some business. Don't forget to take your medicine, alright?" Natsu nodded as Erza turned on his bedroom light, blew a kiss to him and bid him farewell before she left for school.

Natsu closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to get the few moments of sleep he wished to have before he sat up on his bed and took a medicine bottle from his bedside table. He looked at the label, trying to read the words it had on it since sleep hadn't fully left him yet. When he knew it was the right one, he opened the bottle and drained two pills before he did the same with two other bottles on his bedside.

Once he was done with his morning ritual and dressed in a simple red tee and brown shorts, Natsu moved over to his window seat, pushing the red curtains slightly out of the way so he could peer down at the street.

Since the little boy couldn't go outside, he always looked out of his window and at the people in front of his house. He loved watching the people who walked by with others or a dog, sometimes they would be alone, but he always found joy in it. His favorite person to walk by his house was a lady who walked her small poodle. She was the only one who knew that Natsu stared down at the people through the red curtains that were always cracked open. She would always smile up at him and waved in a greeting. He would sometimes smile and wave back or just stare or close the curtains quickly.

The only place Natsu could actually go that was outside, was his backyard. He only went out there with his father or Erza, but seeing that neither was home, he didn't want to go outside alone since it was boring.

That is what sucked for Natsu. Dad was always at work and Erza always was at school. It sucked having this illness and being home alone all day. It was just too boring.

After a few hours of watching people walk up and down the street, Natsu caught sight of his older sister's bright scarlet hair and jumped onto his knees in joy. His excitement died down when he saw two other kids the same age as his sister. One was another girl who had shoulder length blonde hair and dark pretty brown eyes. She was smiling at a joke Erza told her. She wore the same uniform Erza did. A white polo and a grey mini skirt with white knee high socks. On the other side of Natsu's sister was a boy with raven hair and deep midnight blue eyes. He smiled lightly, and seemed to laugh along with Erza and the blonde haired girl. The only difference about his uniform was that he wore grey slacks with his hands stuffed inside the pocket.

When Erza and her friends rounded the corner to the house, Natsu quickly moved away from the curtains, heart beating fast. Erza never brought friends home.

His fear only increased when he heard the lock on the door jingle as Erza unlocked it and came inside.

"Natsu!" she called up to him, her friends stopping in mid conversation to listen to what Erza was going to say. "I'm home!"

* * *

Lucy looked at Erza with excitement, bouncing a little in place, unable to fully conceal it.

"I can't wait to meet your little brother! He sounds so cute!" Lucy squealed as they took off their shoes and set down their bags by the door. "But I wonder why we never see him at school?" Erza smiled lightly at that.

"Natsu is a sickly child and has been that way since birth. Dad doesn't want people to freak out so he keeps him at home and has a tutor to come over sometimes so Natsu is kept up in line with the school system." she explained. Lucy's smile dropped at that.

"That's so sad…" she replied gloomily.

"Also this is the first time meeting kids around his age besides me." the scarlet haired girl told them, looking up the stairs in front of the door. "Natsu! Get your butt down here before force it!" she screamed loudly. A few moments later a pink haired boy slowly came down the steps, nervousness in his eyes as he looked at the newcomers, eyes quickly going to Erza as if looking for answers.

"Erza-nii, who're they?" he asked softly, sitting down on the fifth step as he hugged the spindle close to him. Erza walked to the bottom of the stairs, smiling at him kindly.

"These are my friends, Lucy and Gray. I thought you would like to meet some kids your age." she said. Shyly, Natsu peered around his sister and at Lucy and Gray. Lucy smiled the sweetest smile she could muster while Gray smiled at him uncertainly.

"Hi." Gray said, waving his hand slightly. Natsu blushed shyly from the smiles both Gray and Lucy were giving him.

"Erza-nii," he whispered loudly as if only Erza could hear him when in fact the others could hear him as well. "I don't know what to do." Lucy giggled at hearing that while Gray chuckled. Erza hung her head and sighed.

"You don't need to know what to do Natsu," she replied as if she was just tired. "Just talk with them like you would to me or dad." Slowly, Natsu nodded and slid down a few steps to be closer to the three at the bottom.

"Do you like squirrels?" he asked the two seriously. Erza smacked her forehead.

"Not like that Natsu! Ask them different questions!"

"Like what?" he squeaked. Erza sighed and shook her head.

"I dunno. What do you wanna know from them?" she asked him, exhausted. Natsu shrugged.

"I'm not the one who's friends with them!" he whined with wide charcoal eyes. Erza's lips pursed together as she took her younger brother's arm and started leading him into the kitchen, calling back over her shoulder to Lucy and Gray: "Give me a minute! And don't touch anything!"

Once they reached the kitchen, Erza let go of Natsu's arm and stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed.

"Natsu, you have to take this seriously!" she scolded. "You never talked to anyone other than dad and me! And you're ten! Kids your age should be hanging out with other kids!"

"Well I'm not other kids. They don't have to take medicine and have a doctor check up on them. And I also used to talk to mom before she… well before she, you know." Natsu replied, eyes looking at the kitchen tiles. Erza's eyes softened at the mention of their mother. She gently put a hand on both of the pink haired kid's shoulders, trying to catch his eyes.

"Hey, hey listen to me. I know it's impossible for you to act like a normal kid and all because of you being sick all the time, but Natsu, don't you think it's about time you start acting like one? Well as close as one as you can get?" Erza asked softly, smiling a little as Natsu finally looked up, an uncertain light gleaming in his eyes.

"Are you sure? I don't know what to do in front of them…" he trailed off, biting his bottom lip. Erza's smile brightened as she hugged Natsu.

"Don't worry, just be yourself and you'd do just fine." She pulled him to arm's length, giving him one last smile to boost his confidence before she led him back to the front door by the hand.

"Alright, I don't think you three have gotten the right greetings, so let's start again." Erza said, stepping behind her brother. Natsu shyly put out a hand in front of him, looking away with a blush on his cheeks.

"H-hi, I'm Natsu Dragneel, Er-" But the pinkette never got to finish as he was soon on the ground having a coughing fit, hand covering his mouth. Erza was instantly at his side, rubbing soothing circles in his back as the coughs slowly subsided.

"Shhh, Natsu, it's going to be alright." she soothed. Slowly, Natsu's pulled his hand away from his mouth and looked up at Erza with weak eyes.

"Erza-nii…" he said weakly, eyes drooping. All three looked at Natsu's hand, eyes widening at what they saw. They didn't have time to worry much about it as Natsu slumped against Erza, unconscious.

Natsu's limp hand fell beside him, blood splattered on his palm along with a thin line leading from his chapped lips.

* * *

Erza smiled lightly at her friends from where they stood in the hallway in front of Natsu's room. The Doctor that always came to check up on her little brother just left with the usual warning to make sure that the pinkette takes his medicine he had left behind.

"Sorry about that." Erza said quietly to Lucy and Gray.

"Sorry about what?" Gray asked the scarlet haired girl. "That neither you nor your little brother could have known that would have happened right then and there?" Erza looked up at Gray as he leaned against the beige wall behind him. "Well don't be, no one could've known that that was going to happen anyway."

"Gray's right Erza," Lucy agreed as she smiled sweetly at her scarlet haired friend. "Shall we see if Natsu-chan's awake yet?" she added after a few moments of no one speaking.

"Sure," Erza nodded as she led the two over to Natsu's room. Quietly, so as if not to wake him up if he was sleeping, Erza opened his door to peer inside. The pink haired child was sitting in his bed, leaning against his head board. In his lap was a game boy their father had gotten him for his birthday. Erza smiled softly as she opened the door the rest of the way, alerting Natsu of her presence as she walked in with Lucy and Gray behind her.

"Erza-nii!" Natsu said cheerfully as he turned off his game boy and set it on his bedside table. He was paler than he was when he met Lucy and Gray, but it was to be expected with that little episode he had earlier. He looked away from his sister and to Lucy and Gray who stood close to the door, not knowing what to do exactly. "Hello," he greeted a little calmer than he had with Erza. "I'm sorry about before. It was unexpected and we weren't able to properly introduce each other. It's nice to meet you! I'm Natsu Dragneel, the younger brother of Erza Dragneel!" He gave them a big toothy smile at the end, surprising the three twelve-year-olds slightly. Overcoming his slight shock, Gray was the first to speak.

"'S nice to meet you too Natsu. I'm Gray Fullbuster." Gray said, smirking back at the boy in the bed.

"And I'm Lucy Heartifllia." Lucy added, nodding slightly in greeting. Natsu smiled widely.

"I hope we can become friends, Lucy and Gray!" Erza couldn't help but smile softly at what just happened before her. This was all that she wanted for her little brother and she finally got her wish. For Natsu to finally have friends.

* * *

It had been a few months after the meeting of Erza's two friends and her little brother. Lucy and Gray always came home with her after school to hang out with her and Natsu. When their father—Igneel—came home from his business trip shortly after, he was delighted to see that Natsu had made some friends. He even let them have a little sleep over since he couldn't help but want to see that delighted smile on Natsu's face when Erza and their friends were over. He wanted to make his son feel normal for once.

Igneel and Natsu were home alone while Erza was at school. Igneel just so happened to have a day off, which he enjoyed since he barely got to really see Natsu and Erza because of having to work all the time. He got to see Erza less because of work since she had school.

"Dad," Natsu said from where he sat at the kitchen table, eating a sandwich Igneel had just made. Igneel sat down in front of him, picking up his own freshly made sandwich and taking a bite out of it.

"Yes Natsu?" he asked, looking over the rim of his glass as he took a drink of water. Natsu kicked his legs back and forth in his chair as he set his sandwich down, looking at Igneel seriously.

"Can I go to school like Erza-nii?" Natsu asked innocently. Igneel swallowed the rest of his water, his throat now tight. He calmly set down his glass, not wanting to look in Natsu's eyes. This had been the question that Natsu asked now-in-days since he had new friends. When Igneel asked, Natsu simply said: "Cause then I can spend more time with Erza-nii, Lucy-san, and Gray-san." And it broke the red haired man's heart whenever he answered negatively, like he did now.

"Okay." Natsu would always replied, his voice somber as he finished the rest of his sandwich.

Yes, Igneel was happy that Lucy and Gray had befriended Natsu, but it broke his heart when he told his son he couldn't go to school to visit the two. Igneel just wish he could say yes and grant the small sickly boy one wish, but he knew he couldn't. He just couldn't.

* * *

"Erza! Wait up!" Erza turned around; trailing off with the conversation she was having with Lucy and Gray. The school bell had just rung, singling the end of school for the day.

"Mira?" Erza asked as the white haired student caught up to her. Mira brushed some of her light colored bangs away from her eyes as she smiled at Erza. "What is it?"

"Well," Mira started, shifting her book bag comfortably on her shoulders. "I now see the three of you always walking home together now-in-days, and I was wondering if I can join you?" she asked hopefully. "I mean, Lisanna always plays with her cat Happy, and Elfman plays video games all day long shouting something along the lines of 'Manly!'" she added. Erza looked sideways at the two beside her who shrugged in responds.

"She can meet Natsu-chan then!" Lucy said, looking back at Erza. Erza considered this for a few moments, and then nodded at Mira, indicating that she could come along.

"Who's Natsu?" Mira asked as they walked out of the school grounds, shoulder to shoulder.

"Erza's younger brother." Gray replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Mira looked at Erza in surprise.

"Erza! I didn't know you had a younger brother! What does he look like? Why haven't I seen him? How old is he?" Mira asked with a pout, crossing her arms over her chest. Erza giggled a little.

"He has pink spiky hair and black eyes. You haven't seen him because he doesn't go to school since he's always sick. And he's ten, turning eleven in a few months." Erza replied slower than when Mira had asked the questions. Mira's eyes widened.

"He's ten?! That means he's Lisanna's age!" the white haired girl cheered, only to frown as she remembered what Erza also said. "He's sickly? How bad?" Gray rolled his eyes at the curious older girl.

"Bad enough to where he has a doctor named Chip." Gray said, only for Erza to punch him lightly in the shoulder.

"He just can't leave the house much really." Erza told Mira, ignoring Gray's earlier statement.

"But he can go in the back yard, sometimes the front yard!" Lucy piped in, seeing the look of horror on Mira's face.

"That's horrible!" Mira breathed out with wide blue eyes. Erza frowned in responds as they reached her front door.

"Just don't give him pity. He hates it since people always give it to him." Mira nodded, squaring her shoulders as if she was preparing for battle. Erza opened the front door. "Natsu, we're home!" she shouted. Before she had even finished her sentence, Natsu came running from where he was in the kitchen, a smile on his face as Gray closed the door behind him.

"Natsu-chan!" Lucy whined at seeing him run. "It's bad for you to run in the house!" Natsu ignored her as he watched them take off their shoes and drop their book bags at the door. He was about to say something when he caught sight of Mira staring curiously at him.

"Hello! You must be Natsu-chan! Erza and the others have told me much about you!" Mira greeted as she put a hand in front of her. "I'm Mirajane Strauss! But you can just call me Mira." Natsu shyly took Mira's hand and shook, smiling as he did so.

"It's nice to meet you Mira-san! I'm Natsu!" the pinkette replied, taking his hand back. "Erza-nii! Guess what! Dad made some chocolate chip cookies!" Natsu said, instantly changing the subject. With excitement, all four children ran into the kitchen where Igneel was getting a fresh batch of cookies out of the oven. On one side of the stove, cookies sat on a cookie pan, light steam coming off of them in waves. Before any of them could reach the hot cookies, Igneel stopped them by standing in front of the oven with a stern smile.

"None of you can have a cookie unless you wash your hands." he said, giving each one of them a look. "And who might you be?" Igneel asked, stopping Mira on her way to the sink behind the other three.

"I'm Mirajane Strauss, but you can just call me Mira!" she introduced herself to the red haired man. Igneel took off his cooking mitten, smiling at Mira.

"I'm very enlighten to meet you Mira-chan. Why don't you wash your hands with the others so you can enjoy some cookies?" Mira nodded, flashing one last smile as she ran over to the sink and stood behind Gray who was fussing with Natsu about a new video game release.

"The game's not really fun at all! The graphics are horrible and there's no point in it except avoid the monsters and jump across rivers!" Natsu argued as he whipped off his wet hands on a towel. Gray rinsed his soapy hands and took the towel from Natsu.

"It's better than that game you like. What's it called? Fairy something?" Gray asked as both of them sat down at the table. Natsu stuck out his tongue at the raven haired preteen, taking a cookie from the plate Igneel had just sat down.

"It's Fairy _Tail_! And it's way better than that game you like! I bet it's made for babies!" Natsu shot back, stuffing around three cookies in his mouth.

"Boys, boys, it's just a game!" Lucy cut in, rolling her eyes at the two. Gray and Natsu both turned their heads to the blonde and stuck out their tongues in unison, earning a slap on the head by Erza.

"Stop acting immature! The both of you!" Erza scolded, almost spilling her milk.

"But Erza-nii! Gray-san's the one who likes the baby games! Not me!" Natsu whined, pointing at Gray. Erza only slapped the pinkette lightly on the head this time, glaring at him.

"Don't point Natsu, it's rude." she said, turning her attention to the mouthwatering cookies in front of her.

Mira giggled, watching the little scene in front of her in amusement.

"Don't worry Natsu-chan!" she whispered to him from across the table, catching the other kid's attention. "I like Fairy Tail a lot too!" Natsu's eyes widened as he bounced up and down in his chair.

"You know about Fairy Tail too?!" he asked in excitement. Mira nodded in reply.

"Of course! My little brother—Elfman—loves to play video games and Fairy Tail happens to be our favorite game to play!" Mira told him.

"See Gray-san! Fairy Tail is _awesome!_" Natsu sneered playfully.

"Alright, that's enough boys." Igneel said as he came over and put more fresh cookies onto the already low pile, smiling. "Let's not argue about video games."

"Thank you!" Erza and Lucy both chimed happily. Natsu stuck his tongue playfully out at Igneel, eyes gleaming in happiness.

* * *

"I wish I can start school with you Erza-nii." Natsu grumbled as he followed the seventeen-year-old throughout the house as she tried to collect her stuff before her first day of school. It was the scarlet haired girl's last year at high school, along with Mira, Gray, and Lucy. They would all be graduating by the end of the summer.

"You say that all the time Natsu." Erza replied as she finally gathered all her things together, tightening her tie so it wasn't so loose. The fifteen-year-old pinkette only frowned, leaning on the wall in the kitchen as he watched his sister grab a slice of toast and take a bite out of it.

"You'd be saying that all the time if you weren't stuck at home with a tutor who comes three times a week! Macao-san is boring! All he really ever talks about is his son Romeo. And when he doesn't, he goes into this boring monotone that I can barely stand!" Natsu pushed his crossed arms up higher on his chest, glaring at nothing in front of him. Erza brushed her hair behind her, smiling at her brother as she slung her book bag over her shoulder.

"Trust me when I say this Natsu; school isn't all that it's made out to be." The teen only rolled his eyes, following the girl as they walked out of the kitchen.

"So?" he replied as Erza faced him before she walked out of the door. "I want to be a normal teenager for once in my life!" Erza smiled apologetically at him.

"I know Natsu! But you know with you being sick and all… Even if you were allowed to go to school, I don't think dad will let you with that episode you had last night! You gave him a scare, both of us, and the bad thing about that is, we should be used to it." Erza sighed as she saw Natsu's eyes downcast as he wiped his hand over his mouth as if expecting a dribble of blood to be there like it would when he experienced an episode. "We just don't want you to get worse." she added softly. Natsu nodded, sliding down the wall as he watched his older sister leave.

He placed his chin atop his folded arms that rested on his knees, staring at the wooden floors before him, not really looking at them all the same.

"Where's my blue fairy when I need her?" he whispered to himself. "I just want to be a real boy." His shoulders drooped slightly. He hauled himself up to his feet a few minutes later. Natsu dragged his feet behind him and all the way up stairs to sit at his window like he normally spent the days when his sister was at school and dad at work.

And he always thought about the same thing. The blue fairy was just too busy to come to him and grant him the one wish he wanted. But she will soon enough if he didn't stop believing.

The blue fairy will make him just like the other boys, no sickness, but a boy who goes to school, gets homework, and can leave the house whenever he wants to. He will become a normal boy one day.

* * *

"Hey Erza, what's wrong?" Lucy asked the scarlet haired teen one day at lunch. Erza shrugged, staring at her food as she picked at it with a fork, not really eating anything.

"The doctors say Natsu's getting worse." She sighed, brushing long strands of hair behind her back as she set down her fork, looking up into Lucy's dark brown eyes. "He's been getting paler lately and his energy hasn't been like it used to be. He just wants to sleep in his bed a lot. The doctors say it's better if we move him into the hospital so they can see what's up." she explained sadly. Lucy looked at Erza with wide shocked eyes. She couldn't believe what her friend had just told her.

"Oh my gosh! That must be tough Erza! How's your dad taking it?" Erza's shoulders dropped as she bit the inside of her cheek.

"Not good. He's asked to be let off work for a few weeks so he can figure out what's wrong with Natsu. Of course they'd allowed him since they know that Natsu has been getting sicker and sicker. But, I think dad's thinking that… well… I think he thinks he's going to lose Natsu like he did our mom." Her voice was quiet by the end, making Lucy strain her ears just to hear what she had just said.

"Not to be noisy or anything… but what did happen to your mom? You don't have to tell me or anything. It would just be nice to know is all…" The blonde haired teen looked away sheepishly. Erza smiled sadly up at her.

"No, it's fine." She shuffled a bit in the hard plastic chair, trying to get as comfortable as she could in the cheap seat. "Well, I was seven at the time—Natsu was five—and our mom suddenly got really ill. The doctors couldn't explain it at all. It was hard on dad and me because not only was Natsu always sick, mom was too. The doctors soon came to a conclusion that our mother had somehow got sick by Natsu, which confused them even more because Natsu was never contagious before; we had never gotten sick by him. A year later, mom was too ill to leave bed and died in her sleep." Lucy put a hand over her mouth, her other lying on top of Erza's.

"I'm so sorry! I don't know what you're going through at all, but Erza, if you need anyone, I'm there. Don't hesitate to ask." Lucy said in concern. Erza smiled lightly, looking up at her blonde friend.

"Yeah, thanks Lucy."

* * *

"Erza-nii?" Natsu asked from where he lay in the hospital bed. He was pale with dark circles under his tired charcoal eyes. His pink hair didn't seem as vibrant as it once was. He was hooked to a breathing machine, heart monitor, and an IV along with other machines Erza didn't know of.

"Yes Natsu?" Erza asked from her chair in-between Lucy and Gray.

"Can you promise me something?" he asked hoarsely, looking at Erza with worn out eyes. Erza smiled, nodding at her sickly brother.

"Sure Natsu. What is it? I'll do anything you ask." She saw his eyes flicker over to his hospital window. She turned and glanced outside too. It was the almost Christmas and already snow was falling down in a flurry of flakes. The sky was white to match as was the ground. It was just like a winter wonderland outside.

She looked back at Natsu who never looked away from his window.

"I want to go outside real bad, Erza-nii." At this he shifted his gaze away from the window to look at his sister. "I never got to play in the snow before, and I really want to. So, when I get better… can you take me to the park when it snows?" he asked with a weak hopeful smile. Erza felt her heart break as she nodded, her smile never leaving her face. She knew how bad Natsu had wanted to go outside, even when they were still little kids she remembered him dragging her into the backyard because it was as close as he could get to being outside.

"I promise Natsu." she replied. Her heart broke even more when she saw the tired, but extremely happy smile stretch on his face. "When you get better we'll go outside. I promise."

* * *

Today was Christmas, but yet it didn't feel like it at all to Erza. It felt too sad to be the happiest holiday of the year, but yet it was.

She looked up, seeing Gray run towards her. There was a look of extreme worry on his face as he came to a stop in front of the scarlet haired teen. Behind her Lucy bit her lip, trying to force her tears away with calm breathing, but it didn't help much as she fell into a cold plastic chair, crying to herself.

"Lucy texted me," Gray panted hands on his knees as he looked up at Erza's shadowed face. "I-is it true? Is Natsu—" he never got the chance to finish as Erza walked away stiffly, away from the closed hospital doors that had once held her little brother. Gray looked over at Lucy helplessly, tears of his own coming to his desperate eyes. "Luce, please tell me it's not true?" he asked, his voice cracking a bit as he tried to blink tears away from his eyes.

All Lucy could do was nod numbly in responds, hugging herself as she did so.

Wordlessly, Gray dropped into the hospital chair beside her. The tears that had surfaced not so long ago came flooding down his cheeks. His whole body was numb. He just couldn't believe it. There was no pain, he felt empty. The only thing he knew for sure was the tears that fell down his cheeks and Lucy shaking with her own tears beside him.

Their best friend—Natsu Dragneel—had passed away.

* * *

"_Erza-nii! Stop tickling me!"_

"_Why can't I go outside?"_

"_Eww! Erza-nii has a boyfriend! DAD!"_

The voices of her deceased brother kept playing in her head. It pained her every time she heard it. She wanted to so desperately cry, but she couldn't because she was just too numb, just too sad, and just too empty without Natsu to cry. She wasn't like this when her mother had first passed away. She had cried so much, along with her dad and Natsu. But she just couldn't find a single tear to shed at her younger brother's funereal.

Maybe it was because she was so close to him, or the fact she knew Natsu more than he did himself? Or the fact that he never got to live the life of a normal boy that she couldn't cry? Maybe it was all of that put together that made it so agonizingly sad that no tear could surface?

It was snowing heavily, the ground being blanketed in blinding white blanket as it did. It wasn't blizzard weather, but it certainly wasn't something to hold a funeral in, but Erza insisted on not canceling the funeral since she had promised Natsu he would go outside when it was snowing. And she wasn't about to break a promise with her deceased brother.

She drowned out the preacher in front of her as she stared at the white ground in front of her, not able to do anything else. Beside her, her dad—Igneel—wept uncontrollably. Both of them couldn't find a need to have an umbrella as the rest of the sad people there did, so they were covered with white snowflakes. She knew it was so very cold outside and her wearing a thin long sleeved black dress didn't help the fact, and she also knew it was supposed to be cold. But she couldn't feel it at all. She couldn't feel the cold that had others teeth chattering like crazy around her.

A hand found its way on her shoulder, and she knew in an instant that it was Lucy trying to comfort her the best way she could from under her own sad umbrella.

"Natsu Dragneel—only fifteen—was too young to go. A joyful young man with a dream—a single dream to go outside. But his life was cut short before he could ever truly fulfill the dream he had long since had. Natsu had left an impression on all of us, deep down to our souls, and we shall never forget the young boy who was too sick to attend school, but always smiled the brightest smile that could ever be shown. May you rest in peace, Natsu."

The funeral drew to a close, everyone hurrying to their cars somberly. The only ones left standing in front of the grey headstone were Igneel and Erza. Gray and Lucy were not so far away, watching the daughter and father with sad eyes.

Without warning, Igneel hugged Erza and cried into her snowy scarlet hair, trying to find a source of comfort in his last remaining family member. It was then that Erza had shed her first tears since Natsu died as she hugged her father back, the snow unable to drown both of their sorrows as they cried in front of the grave.

The person that was once called a son, a brother, and a friend was gone to the world and so was his bright smile. No one would be able to see the hyper boy for he was forever gone.

* * *

"Erza, will you get that?" Igneel called from downstairs when he heard the doorbell ring. Erza sighed, setting down the object she was about to put in the brown box on a side table before she walked down the steps lethargically. It had been a few months since the passing of Natsu. Erza had since graduated high school with Lucy and Gray. Igneel had decided it would be a good idea to get away from the town they had lost two of their loved ones in and start anew once Erza graduated, which she did not complain at all to the idea.

When she opened the door, she wasn't surprised to find Gray and Lucy standing there with sad frowns.

"So," Gray started, rocking back and forth on his heels. "You're really going to leave?" Erza nodded silently, watching the two with calculating eyes.

"Yeah," she looked behind her and to the mound of boring brown boxes. "Dad said we're leaving this town for a new start. Too many places that will remind us of the ones we lost." she said, breathing out the last part as a sigh.

"When are you leaving?" Lucy asked. Erza looked above her as if there was a clock.

"Oh, around noon or so. Just got a couple more boxes to pack, then we have to load it onto the moving truck in the drive way dad rented." Erza said as she leaned against the door frame.

Lucy shuffled her feet as she looked anywhere but Erza, Gray doing the same as he bit his cheek. "We were wondering if we could help you pack?" Lucy asked uncertainty. Erza smiled, stepping away from the doorway.

"Sure. We really only have Natsu's room left. We haven't been in there much, nor have we started packing it. Just too hard to, plus there's too many things that remind us of Natsu for us to really do anything." She led them up the stairs and down the familiar pathway to the bedroom that once belonged to a certain pinkette they all missed.

Erza stared at the door, contemplating opening it before she mustered up her courage, and opened the door.

The room was dark all except the window seat that they often found Natsu sitting at and staring down at the street below. They could almost see a phantom of the pinkette doing so, only to look up at them and smile and wave. But there was no one there as they were reminded that he was long gone.

The room was white with a normal looking bed with white sheets. Erza looked quickly away from the bed as she was reminded of the hospital bed her brother had spent his last moments in.

"I'll get some boxes." she said, leaving Gray and Lucy in the room. There wasn't much in the room except for the wide book case that held so many books that couldn't be counted and the few video games here and there.

Gray looked at the bed, a certain memory playing at the front of his mind.

* * *

"_Erza-nii!" Natsu said cheerfully as he turned off his game boy and set it on his bedside table. He was paler than he was when he met Lucy and Gray, but it was to be expected with that little episode he had earlier. He looked away from his sister and to Lucy and Gray who stood close to the door, not knowing what to do exactly. "Hello," he greeted a little calmer than he had with Erza. "I'm sorry about before. It was unexpected and we weren't able to properly introduce each other. It's nice to meet you! I'm Natsu Dragneel, the younger brother of Erza Dragneel!" He gave them a big toothy smile at the end, surprising the three twelve-year-olds slightly. Overcoming his slight shock, Gray was the first to speak._

"'_S nice to meet you too Natsu. I'm Gray Fullbuster." Gray said, smirking back at the boy in the bed._

"_And I'm Lucy Heartifllia." Lucy added, nodding slightly in greeting. Natsu smiled widely._

"_I hope we can become friends, Lucy and Gray!"_

* * *

Before he could remember more, Erza came in with a couple of boxes in her hands.

"There's a few more, but you guys can start packing in these boxes while I get more." Lucy and Gray nodded, taking a box and started packing the objects in the room.

"Hey Gray," Lucy said, holding up a baseball bat with dust covering it from head to toe. "Remember that one time we came home from school with Erza to see that Natsu had found his dad's old bat?" she asked, marveling the old rusted red steel in her hands. Gray chuckled a bit at the memory.

"He was so excited about the bat that he kept telling us he was going to become a professional baseball player even though he never learned how to play." he said as he watched Lucy put it delicately into a box, a wistful smile on her face.

"Yeah," she agreed quietly. Before she could pick up anything else, Gray turned around to show her an object in his hand.

"Remember this?" he asked with a knowing smirk. In his hand was a basketball that looked somewhat new. "He said he was also going to be a professional basketball player and accidently broke the living room window." Lucy giggled and nodded as Gray tossed the ball up into the air, catching it and softly putting it into the box.

"He would always end up with a sport item one way or another and tell us how he was going to succeed in the sport before he ended up breaking something and blaming it on you." Lucy said wistfully.

"You forgot something." Both Lucy and Gray jumped up in surprised and whirled around to face Erza with wide eyes.

"E-Erza!" Lucy stuttered as the scarlet haired girl walked passed her and to a small table near Natsu's window. She picked up a couple of drumsticks and turned around, looking at them.

"Natsu begged dad for these. He wanted to learn how to play the drums. He somehow knew that he probably could never go outside, so he thought that these were the second best things next to sports. Dad finally relented after a little bit and hesitantly bought him the drums. When Natsu wasn't playing the drums, he would always be hitting these sticks in a rhythm against something." She walked over to a box on Natsu's bed and carefully set them in. "Come on, let's pack the rest."

* * *

Soon everything in the house was in boxes and being loaded on a moving truck. Igneel had just closed the back of the truck when a lady walked up to him. Behind him, Erza, Gray, and Lucy stopped talking to look at the woman. She looked to be almost sixty and at her feet was a poodle.

"Hello, I'm Hana Burns. I live a block over." she greeted, shaking Igneel's hand.

"Igneel Dragneel," Igneel introduced himself, smiling politely.

"I see you're moving." she commented, nodding towards the house then glancing at the truck beside Igneel. The red haired man nodded.

"Yeah, my daughter and I are looking for a fresh start." he said, pointing behind him towards Erza. Hana looked over his shoulder and saw Erza, smiling.

"What a lovely looking girl." she complimented. "But don't you have a son?" Igneel's lips twitched, but he kept the smile up. She pointed towards Natsu's window with a confused look. "For ten years I've always seen this little boy looking down at the street while I walk my dog. He was always there, every single day I passed your house." she told him. Igneel looked down at the ground, nodding a bit.

"Well," he started a bit softly. "I did have a son." he said, looking at the smaller woman. "But, a few months ago… he, um… He passed away." He looked back down at the ground, biting his lip. Hana smiled softly at him once the shock of hearing this went away.

"I'm sorry for your lost." she said sincerely. "But if I may ask, what happened to him?" It took a few minutes for Igneel to answer.

"He was a sickly child since the day he was born. Then nine months ago, his doctor said he was getting worse. They moved him to the hospital to keep an eye on him, and no more than two months there, he just… He just let go." He sighed, looking back at Hana.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. That must have been rough." Igneel nodded in agreement. "But I'll tell you one thing. Don't act like it's the end of the world, act like it is a beginning, because it is. For you, your daughter, and your son. And you just have to remember, you will see him one day and he's never truly gone unless you let him be." Tears brimmed Igneel's eyes as he hastily whipped them away.

"Thank you." he breathed, his voice cracking. Hana nodded, and then left with her dog trailing beside her.

"Erza, it's time!" Igneel said, looking at the girl before he got into the driver side of the car. Erza turned to look at her friends, the sad smile that she seemed to be wearing now-in-days on her face.

"I guess this is good-bye." she told the two.

"Guess it is." Gray agreed, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Promise us that you'll text us?" Lucy asked hopefully, Gray looking at Erza in the same way. Erza laughed a little, nodding.

"Promise." she said. Erza gave the two one last hug before she climbed into the passenger seat and into her new life.

One thought crossed her mind as they pulled away from the house she had grown up in once with her mother and younger brother.

_Love never dies and Natsu, you will never stop being my little brother_.


End file.
